After a busy second day of unrestricted free agency, Brad Treliving discussed landing Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi on one-year contracts, whether he is going to address the defense beyond the addition of John Klingberg, and his current cap situation.
How are you feeling after what you were able to accomplish yesterday?
Treliving: That is the goal — we are better today than we were yesterday. I know everyone gets excited when the bell goes off on July 1st. We still have lots of summer left to build our team.
I feel better about our team. One of the things we were cognizant of is trying to replace some offense that left. There are also still specific skill sets we are looking for, too.
To me, there are goals with Tyler, but to me, they are middle-ice goals. He gets to the middle ice and he gets to the blue paint. He is a good complement to a lot of our players here with the skill sets that we have with his ability to get to the areas to score goals. He complements that.
Bringing Max in, I go back a long way with Max. I was in Arizona when we drafted him. Shane [Doan] played a big role in this. Shane was Max’s first captain. I really believe that we are going to see the best version of Max.
He has been dying to play in Toronto for a long time. Having players who it means a great deal to them to pull on the jersey is important. That is Max.
He brings offensive ability. With both of these players, I think there is a DNA part of them. We need a little bit more snot to our game. I think they both bring a bit of that.
We felt it was a good day yesterday.
Was finding players with more “snot” to their game your number-one priority coming in knowing the skill level on the team?
Treliving: You need players, right? They need to be able to play. But as much as the game has changed, some things have never changed. At the most important times, the rink shrinks. There is no space. You need courage. We wanted to add players like that.
I think have a ton of them in this room. You have to get to certain areas to be productive at this time of the year. With the players that we have, adding to it the type of DNA that these guys bring drags everybody along with it.
You can’t have players that have a lot of piss and vinegar but can’t play. The guys that we have added all fill a specific role for us.
With the three players you brought in with Max Domi, John Klingberg, and Tyler Bertuzzi, was it more their preference for a shorter term, or were you happy to keep them on a one-year deal?
Treliving: It was an interesting market. We are at the tail end of this in terms of being jammed up cap-wise as a league. We have been slogging through it, so it is an interesting market for the players.
If you ask any player, having term is an important part. Our goal was to try to keep things short. You never know. When Tyler and Max entered this process, we spoke to them both very early. Term was something they both wanted. They pivoted on that. We let them know early in the process that if they ever got to a shorter-term deal, we would love to talk.
It speaks to what is in this dressing room when they look at going short-term with the type of players they get to play with and the type of team they think this is. Things start to open up a [year from now].
We were certainly looking to keep things short. We all know we have some other business to take care of. It just worked out. Once they started to explore short-term, we were there.
What do you think another level looks like for Max Domi?
Treliving: I don’t know if he needs to get to another level. We saw that with Max last year. He was an important player on a team that went on a deep playoff run.
All players learn with each year in the league. You learn what you need to do to be successful and what doesn’t work. I think he has become a more responsible player.
What I like about Max is also his versatility. He has center versatility. He plays the wing. He can move up and down.
He is a much more mature player. He understands the things now that are important. It is not all about points.
When we talked to him and it sunk in that he was a Maple Leaf, it really, really mattered to him. I think we are going to see the best version of him.
Do you envision him as a center?
Treliving: Obviously, Sheldon is sitting beside me as we go through this process. I would say that he has the ability to play center. As we look at it right now on the board, it would be on the wing, but having the flexibility to move people around is a good thing.
What does it mean when a name like Domi comes into a market like Toronto given the history?
Treliving: There is all that around it, but as I said to Max, this isn’t a legacy signing. This isn’t about anything other than we think we are going to get a really good player to help us win games.
All of the rest of it around it — sure, there is a nice story or two, but this isn’t about signing a guy because he has some really cute pictures in the Leaf room. That is nice, but that has nothing to do with getting the player.
Now, I think those things — and the history — will drive him. It will matter. It is really important to him. Playing here is important to him. The chance to win here is what we kept coming back to.
It is too important to get lost on nice stories. We are looking for good players and people who can help us win. I think Max can do it. The rest of it is nice, but it has nothing to do with him being here.
How fast did the contracts come together with Bertuzzi and Domi?
Treliving: It wasn’t fast. I think everybody can sit back and try to Monday morning quarterback it. There are a million different moving parts, right?
We had a pretty good idea long before getting to free agency that our players were going to move on. I have talked about Ryan [O’Reilly]. I had a really good conversation with Ryan. He loved playing in Toronto. He loved our players. He loved our dressing room. He loved these guys. Sometimes, when you are from this area, there is a lot to it. We wish him well.
Same with all of these guys who come through. When you know they are leaving, you put together a plan. Unfortunately, there are 31 other teams trying to do the same thing.
With Tyler, we went to him very early. We thought he fit with us. At that time, there wasn’t a deal to be made as I said about looking for some term as the day went on a few days ago. We got up yesterday morning and continued the dialogue: “If you are looking for one year, we think we offer some really good opportunities for you.”
It is timing. It is luck. I would love to say we have a big crystal ball, but there are a lot of moving parts with this. I think, ultimately, what it speaks to is what players believe is in this room and what this team is capable of doing. Fortunately, it worked out.
Can you talk about the addition of Dylan Gambrell?
Treliving: I think he gives us more depth. I am a big believer that you need lots of centers and lots of defensemen. He is a center and a right shot. He has played a lot in the league over the past few years. I think he is going to provide us with good depth.
What challenge lies ahead for you with the salary cap gymnastics?
Treliving: We’ve locked [Pridham] in the room there and we are not letting him out with no food or water until he really finds results.
We are not as concerned as everybody else is. We have the LTI position, so we were able to do the things we did yesterday. We continue to look for opportunities for us.
Despite a busy few days, especially with William Nylander and Auston Matthews’ situations, would you agree there is still a lot to do?
Treliving: Oh yeah, lots to do. I don’t think you are ever done. We were in there today looking at different opportunities. Now, it might not necessarily be a pure free-agent signing, but now you are looking at the trade market. You are always looking at ways to make the team better.
Certainly, Auston and William are priorities. We continue the dialogue and hopefully get to a good end result.
Would you like to change the mix on the defense?
Treliving: I think I have been open and honest in saying I like long D. We still look at that.
With John, we are able to move pucks. He brings an offensive element.
It is still a work in progress there. At the end of the day, you are not going to accomplish everything in two or three days or one summer. We will continue to look at opportunities there.
